LA+0 Half Giant Complete Psionic

[Wacky89]

So I'm trying to explain to my gm how you can play the half-giant from complete psionic without taking levels in that racial class and just take levels in normal classes. Can someone help me explain it and point me to the correct rules etc.

[Psyren]

LA Buyoff Rules (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/reducingLevelAdjustments.htm)

[Flickerdart]

Aside from LA buyoff there's also an alternate rule suggested somewhere (I think in Savage Species?) that floated the idea that, with DM approval, a character with a bunch of LA could start play with negative level-like penalties equal to the LA that would be replaced with LA when the PC earned the level. So if your DM was down with it, you could start play as a half-giant and just have the -5 HP, and -1 to attack, skills, saves, and ability checks.

[Wacky89]

You are both thinking of the half-giant from XPH.
I'm asking about the racial class in complete psionic

[Darrin]

So I'm trying to explain to my gm how you can play the half-giant from complete psionic without taking levels in that racial class and just take levels in normal classes. Can someone help me explain it and point me to the correct rules etc.

Complete Psionic page 148 has an option that allows you to start with a weaker half-giant race, and then you "buy" the rest of your racial abilities as your second "level". This is similar to LA Buyoff or a Monster/Savage Progression racial class level.

A 1st level half-giant using this option would start with weaker racial traits: +2 Con, -2 Dex, Speed 30, giant type, medium size, low-light vision, +2 save bonus vs. fire effects. You also start out with whatever 1st-level class abilities you'd normally have according to your class.

At 2nd level, you don't gain a new class level but you do get the rest of your racial abilities: +2 Str, Powerful Build, stomp 1/day, 2 PP.

At 3rd level, you can take another class level. The rest of your level-based advances are staggered by one level, just as if you were playing a character with Level Adjustment +1. You gain a new feat at 3 HD (three class levels), an ability score increase at 4 HD (four class levels), etc. The chart on page 148 essentially spells out for you an XP progression that's a little bit simpler to keep track of than calculating your ECL or dealing with LA Buyback.

The drawback is you don't get your 20th class level pre-epic. Using this chart, a half-giant wizard at 20th level would have only 19 wizard class levels.

[Sian]

I think the whole idea boils down to a question if the Racial classes in Complete Psionic follows Savage Progression as in the web enhancements (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/sp/20040213a) (as in you can take as much or as little as you want, at any time you want). If it follows the rules for Monster classes as described in Savage Species and mainly used (in 3.5) in the "Races of X" Books (you'd have to take it before considering Class levels), or a third nonspecified way.

[Darrin]

I think the whole idea boils down to a question if the Racial classes in Complete Psionic follows Savage Progression as in the web enhancements (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/sp/20040213a) (as in you can take as much or as little as you want, at any time you want). If it follows the rules for Monster classes as described in Savage Species and mainly used (in 3.5) in the "Races of X" Books (you'd have to take it before considering Class levels), or a third nonspecified way.

By RAW, it follows the rules on page 148 of Complete Psionic, which makes no mention of Savage Species or Savage Progression levels.

That being said, I'd allow the "lesser half-giant" to take his "Savage Progression level" later (or never take it) as a house rule. Presumably this would be to make a Primordial Half-Giant wizard as a 1st level character with no level adjustment.